- MARERRO READY FOR GOUVEIA AT UFC 71

by Matt Hill – MMAWeekly.com
UFC fighter Carmelo Marrero will look to get back on the winning track this weekend when he faces tough American Top Team fighter Wilson Gouveia. Both Marrero and Gouveia are still relative newcomers to the UFC with only a combined 5 UFC fights between them, but each of these men are also at important places in their fight careers.

A third win in a row will definitely move Gouveia up the light-heavyweight ladder and solidify his place in the division, and a second UFC victory for Marrero will get him another notch in the win column and prove him to be a contender at the 205 class.

This fight will be Marrero’s first in the UFC’s light-heavyweight division. After beating Cheick Kongo with superior wrestling technique and determination at heavyweight, Marrero dropped a fight to now heavyweight contender Gabriel Gonzaga. Carmelo said of that fight, “I realized that I needed to be at 205. The loss to Gonzaga was motivation for me to cut down to 205.”

Carmelo said of his weight cut, “I feel pretty good. I feel strong. The cut went well…I had good trainers and training partners around me. It’s just going to take me getting into the ring to see how I feel at this weight.”

Coming into the fight with Gonzaga, ‘Melo’ – as friends and fans call him – was still undefeated in MMA at 6-0. While his loss to Gonzaga no doubt stunned him, he had to find at least a bit of relief when Gonzaga destroyed Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic in devastating form in his next fight.

Carmelo said, “I’m not going to lie, it did feel good. He beat Cro Cop by that great head kick in one of the best fights of the year.” But as every fighter knows, nothing compares to getting back into the win column for oneself.

For this fight, Carmelo once again trained with Rory and Adam Singer at the HardCore Gym, one of the premier MMA schools in the southeast region. An ironic twist to this fight is that the HardCore Gym officially became an A.T.T. affiliated school on the day that the UFC called and asked Carmelo for the fight. As for this fight Melo said, “It’s just business,” and Marrero’s trainer and fellow T.H.C.G. teammate Rory Singer said, “Look for both Carmelo and Wilson to be flying a flag with an ATT logo.”

Teammates or not, on May 26th, each man will be looking to further his own career by securing an impressive victory. With so much to gain and so much to lose for both of these fighters, fans should look forward to a competitive, engaging fight.